Thanks for Nothing – Page 4

Consumer World Celebrates 30 Years: 1995 - 2025
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Thanks for Nothing — Spring 2021

April 27, 2021April 26, 2021 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

One again we bring you a round-up of products, offers, and advertisements that are real head-scratchers or just too-good-to-be-true.

Example #1

Shoppers are attracted to bonus offers on grocery products and manufacturers know it. Sometimes, however, what looks like a special deal on a product is nothing but a mathematics lesson only indicating that a particular package is X% larger than a smaller one, as we have previously reported.

The latest arithmetic lesson comes from Campbell’s but apparently the math wizards there never quite mastered long division.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Here, the same 15.2 ounce can of tomato soup is compared to the regular 10.75 one, but the company can’t seem to decide how much more you are actually getting in the bigger can. Thanks for nothing, Campbell’s.

Example #2

Recently Shaw’s Supermarkets seemed to offer a great deal in their “Just for U” coupon section – $5 off a $5 purchase.

*MOUSE PRINT:

It only looked like $5 off a $5 purchase. The zero after the $5 purchase requirement was truncated and only visible when viewing the details of the coupon’s requirements. Thanks for nothing, Shaw’s.

Example #3

Macy’s had advertised a great price on men’s Dockers pants – only $9.95.

*MOUSE PRINT:

But, when clicking on the $9.95 offer, the price quadrupled to over $40.

Thanks for nothing, Macy’s.

If you find a questionable product label or advertisement suitable for the Thanks for Nothing series, please submit it to: Edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org .

Consumer World Celebrates 30 Years: 1995 - 2025
Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Thanks for Nothing – Year-End 2020

December 14, 2020December 14, 2020 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Please Help Support Mouse Print*

Edgar Dworsky

For 25 years, Consumer World, the creator of Mouse Print*, has served readers with the latest consumer news, money-saving tips, and independent investigations. It is your generosity (and not advertising nor corporate contributions) that keeps Mouse Print* and Consumer World available as free consumer resources. So MrConsumer turns to you and humbly asks for your support again this year. Your gift will be most appreciated.

In this series, we look at ads or products that just make you shake your head and maybe even chuckle.

Natrol 3 a.m. Melatonin

MrConsumer has a sleep disorder of sorts where he often wakes up in the middle of the night and has a hard time falling back to sleep. So when he saw this product called Natrol 3 a.m. Melatonin he got all excited. “For middle of the night wakeups” the package said.

Yeah, finally someone was making a product to keep me from waking up at 3 a.m. Presumably the product had some type of heavy-duty delay-release coating on it so it could deliver a big punch of melatonin in the middle of the night. I grabbed a coupon and was about to head out to Walmart, but then I read the instructions on the package.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Oh, so I have to get out of bed at 3 a.m. to take this pill and then it will help me get back to sleep. Thanks for nothing, Natrol.

Amazon – Frequently Bought Together

Amazon and other sellers always like to encourage people to buy more things during their shopping trip. One way is to group things together, such as showing a particular toy along with the batteries that it requires. That can be very helpful. But this recent example from Amazon is a head-scratcher.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Yes, I am sure that many people buy a bidet, washing machine cleaning tablets, and a cast iron skillet so they can be used together. Thanks for nothing, Amazon.

From the Installment Sales Department…

Has it really gotten to the point where people have to buy everyday products like underwear on the installment plan?

*MOUSE PRINT:

If anything had to be offered on installments it would be this Dyson hair dryer.

Good news… the price has now dropped to a mere $400.

Thanks for nothing, 2(x)ist and Dyson.

Consumer World Celebrates 30 Years: 1995 - 2025
Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Thanks for Nothing – Summer 2020

July 20, 2020 by Edgar (aka MrConsumer)

Periodically we share offers from sellers that just make you scratch your head or chuckle because of the contradictions in the advertising or surprises in the fine print.

Example #1

In an online promotion, Macy’s promised to take $11.99 off a box of a particular brand of chocolates when you made any purchase. But, when reader William-Andrew went to check out, the system did not take off the full $11.99.

*MOUSE PRINT:

The Macy’s online call center refused to fix the overcharge, but once stores reopened, the manager there gladly gave our consumer back the difference. Thanks for nothing (at least online), Macy’s.

Example #2

While we’re dumping on Macy’s, reader Gay R. sent in a coupon that promised a generous 25% off for their credit card holders. The back of the coupon, however, noted a list of exclusions in miniscule type that seemingly left little the coupon could be used for.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Example #3

Joe W. says he visited the Sears in Danbury, CT and had to send in a picture of a “blowout” deal he saw on some tools while getting his car repaired.

*MOUSE PRINT:

He said “at least they were brutally honest.” Thanks for nothing, Sears.

Example #4

And CVS was offering the same amount of savings on these masks that only looked like they were on sale.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Thanks for nothing, CVS.

Example #5

If you didn’t look carefully, you might have thought it was your lucky day to find a genuine bargain on parking downtown.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Credit:Reddit

If you find a funny or oddball offer that could be spotlighted here, please submit a copy to us.